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Knicks draftee Ntilikina: 'I will play great' with Porzingis

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

It hasn't taken long for Thursday night's No. 8 pick to declare his love for new Knicks teammate Kristaps Porzingis.

While 18-year-old Frank Ntilikina is from France by way of Belgium, and Porzingis hails from Latvia, sharing a home continent has given the young duo plenty of common ground to build upon.

"We're both European. We both have a good IQ and playing pick-and-roll with him will be great," said Ntilikina, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone. "I just know that I will play great with him."

Ntilikina is young, but has been playing professionally for Strasbourg in France's top league since he was 16. Porzingis can relate, as the 7-foot-3 floor-spacing anomaly played three seasons in Spain's top league before making his North American debut - a stint that included seven games as a 16-year-old with Cajasol Sevilla.

Whether the two will actually get to test their pick-and-roll chemistry is another question. Knicks president Phil Jackson has been open about his desire for the team to adhere to the Triangle, an offensive system with which he found much success during his coaching days with the Bulls and Lakers.

To his credit, Ntilikina said all the right things about Jackson's preferred style.

"This is the system that brings him a lot of championships, definitely," he said. "The system that I played back in France with my team is quite similar with it. I think I can definitely fit the system."

For the sake of the Knicks faithful, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

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